LOADS OF L&LS

Today the Ninth Island, tomorrow the world!

Wonder if L&L stands for “;lots and lots”;?

If not, it certainly should, as the popular Hawaii-originated, plate-lunch franchise gets ready to expand — again.

All those Hawaii ex-pats in Las Vegas and local retirees enjoying “;The Ninth Island”; must be streaming steady business, as two more L&L Hawaiian Barbecue locations are slated to launch there on Thursday, bringing the total in the area to eight.

Since opening their first humble L&L Drive-Inn on Liliha Street in 1976, founders Johnson Kam and Eddie Flores Jr. have seen the company flourish to more than 185 restaurants in Hawaii, California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Texas and New York.

Which makes one wonder: Can L&L international be far behind?

CASE CLOSED

Moanalua High team headed to nationals

Congratulations to the Moanalua High School students who bested peers from Kauai High School, St. Joseph School in Hilo and Punahou School to win this year's Mock Trial state finals. The competition, held Saturday at the Hawaii Supreme Court, had the students arguing the fictional lawsuit filed by the parents of a young man crushed by the crowd at a rap concert. In making the winning case, the Moanalua students won a chance to compete at the national competition in May, a trip for which they will be raising money in the coming weeks.